Leader comment: Preparing a best of British welcome for Mr Trump

Friday the 13th is “considered an unlucky day in Western superstition”, according to Wikipedia. But this year, it will be the date when lucky old Britain gets to play host to the greatest American president ever.

Yes, you guessed it, Donald Trump is coming to the UK and everybody is really, really happy about it.

The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, surely spoke for the nation when he tweeted: “FANTASTIC news that President @realdonaldtrump will at last come to Britain on 13 July. Looking forward to seeing our closest ally and friend on the GREATest visit ever.”

Any remarks that Johnson, or indeed anyone else, like The Scotsman, may have made in the past should be forgotten. We’re sure Johnson didn’t mean it when he said, just over two years ago, that “the only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump”.

No, the UK Cabinet will now adopt the widest of fixed grins, let Mr Trump shake hands with them any way he likes and generally try to put on a good show.